Buttermilk Baked Chicken

Tonight, I am making buttermilk baked chicken for dinner, which I found once upon a time in Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine. This is great with a Nantucket Blue Salad and buttermilk mashed potatoes. Because the chicken marinates in buttermilk, it produces a really moist, tender bird!

Recipe Notes

Marinate the chicken breasts (I use boneless breasts, but the recipe actually calls for bone-in) in a zip-top gallon size plastic bag. The chicken can marinate for between two hours and up to one day. I make my marinade up in the morning and leave it in the fridge all day, and when I come home it is easy to make the breadcrumbs and pop it in the oven.

This recipe calls for herbes en Provence. This is an herb blend that may include rosemary, marjoram, basil, savory, thyme, and/or lavender. The recipe calls for fresh, but I buy the dried kind out of the Central Market bulk bins (about $0.08 worth of spices instead of at least $1.00 for the fresh variety), and it still tastes great.

Recipe serves 4.

Ingredients

• 2-1/4 c. low-fat (1%) buttermilk
  
• 3 tbsp. honey
  
• 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  
• Coarse salt and pepper
  
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (may also use bone-in)
• 3 slices white sandwich bread, torn
• 3/4 tsp. herbes en Provence
• 2 tsp. olive oil
  

Instructions

1. Make marinade for chicken by combining the first four ingredients (through salt and pepper) in a zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken breasts, marinate at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

3. In a food processor, combine bread, oil, and herbes en Provence and pulse until fine crumbs form. Season generously with salt and pepper.

4. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
5. Lift chicken from marinade and allow excess to drip off. Dredge chicken in breadcrumb mixture and place on foil-lined baking sheet.
6. Bake until crumbs are browned and chicken is cooked through, approximately 30-40 minutes.